All language subtitles for Adam Ruins Everything s01e24 Justice.eng

Hey, Rhea.
Big case today?

Nothin' I haven't seen before.

Charles, took care of that
parking ticket for ya.

Gee, thanks, Rhea!

And I got your public
urination too, Gary.

Wow, you're the best!

You know, I've got
an enlarged prostate...

Don't care why,
just happy to help.

Oh.
Hey. Oh, you don't have to stand.

I'm a lawyer, not a judge.

I know, I'm just nervous.

I get it, but their case
is flimsy at best.

They didn't find enough coke
on you to prove

that you were selling,
and the cop who arrested you

was suspended for lying
on the stand.

I am confident
we can convince a jury

that you're not guilty.
Just trust the system.

Actually, our justice system
is riddled with flaws.

Oh, come on!
Right on time.

I'm Adam Conover,

and I declare this
"Adam Ruins Everything."

Adam, look, this is my job,

and I'm begging you,
as your sister,

please do not do this.

Kendra's case
is about to go to trial.

And, look, I've got it
under control.

Just relax.
Or, be very worried,

because our justice system

is way less impartial
than we like to think.

Adam, I'm serious!

Kendra's freedom is on the line.
Please stop scaring her.

Nope, I knew it.

The system is gonna screw me.

They throw innocent
people in jail

while some old lady
who spills hot coffee

on herself gets a million bucks.

Ah, yes, the famous

McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit.

That case was terrible,

but not for the reason
you think.

In fact, everything you've
heard about it is wrong.

Tell me,

what do you think
happened in that case?

So, there was this greedy lady,

and she was all...

I want money.
My ethics are questionable.

So, she gets a coffee

at McDonalds, but she's like...

I'm too dumb to know
that coffee is hot.

And she's driving all crazy.

And she spills
a little on her lap.

Then she's all like...

Boo hoo!
I'm suing McDonalds!

I deserve money
for being stupid.

And now, she's a millionaire,

and probably owns
the Clippers or whatever.

Oof! Sorry, all of that
is wrong...

The facts, the outcome,

and especially
that voice. Hey!

A strong choice is better
than no choice at all.

Here's what actually happened.

Stella Liebeck
was a 79-year-old woman

whose grandson drove her
to McDonalds.

She was in a parked car
holding hot coffee

in her lap when it spilled.

Now, Stella openly admitted

that the spill was her mistake,

but the results were horrifying.

She had third degree burns
on her legs and genitals,

and she went into shock.

She had to undergo
painful skin graft operations,

and her surgeon said it was one

of the worst cases
he had ever seen.

Stella was permanently
disfigured and nearly died.

Third degree burns?
How is that possible?

No one serves coffee that hot.

You're right.
Only a clown would.

The reason Stella's injuries
were so severe

is that McDonalds
was serving coffee

at up to 190 degrees.

That's almost boiling!

McDonalds themselves
even admitted that

at that temperature,
their coffee was a hazard.

In fact, in the decade prior,

over 700 people
notified McDonalds

that they had been burned
by their coffee.

Holy crow!

The real irony is,

Stella didn't even
want to go to court.

She just wanted McDonalds
to help pay

her $20,000 in out-of-pocket
medical expenses.

But after making her wait
for six months,

they only offered her 800 bucks.

Stella tried to get McDonalds
to settle.

She even agreed to mediation.

But McDonalds wouldn't budge.

They gave her no choice
but to go to court.

So when the jury heard
Stella's story,

they found that McDonalds
had acted so irresponsibly,

they had to be punished.

They burned 700 people?

This has gotta stop!

Let's fine them
two days' coffee sales.

That's 2.7 million.

That ought to teach 'em
a lesson.

It does.
Robble-robble.

And, it worked.

In the end, Stella settled
for less than 600 grand.

But that was enough
to get McDonalds

to lower their temperature
and stop burning people.

This was an incredibly
rare case where

a working-class victim
actually beat

a huge team of corporate lawyers

and made the world
a better place.

Wow, how do I not
know about this?

Because those corporate lawyers

are really good at their jobs.

They spent years running
a disinformation campaign

to convince Americans
that there was

"an epidemic
of frivolous lawsuits."

And the media bought it.

It seems she was holding a cup

between her legs while driving.

Now she claims she
broke her nose

on the sneeze guard
at the Sizzler

bending over looking
at the chickpeas.

You get me one coffee drinker
on that jury,

you're gonna walk
out of there a rich man.

And because of
this false narrative,

the witch hunt against
"frivolous lawsuits"

continues to this day.

Coffee's hot, suing's not.

Lawsuits never
should be brought.

Coffee's hot, suing's not.

Wow, they're really mad.

Except that
that anger is not real.

These protests have been
organized and sponsored

by large corporations.

Kendra, this Michael McCann,

he's a professor
of law and politics

at the University of Washington

and a co-author
of distorting the law.

Kendra,
for the last several decades,

large corporations
afraid of being sued

for making unsafe products

create front groups like
"Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse"

to try and turn public opinion
against lawsuits.

This included companies
like Pfizer and Texaco

and big tobacco companies
like Philip Morris.

Philip Morris?

Yeah, and by spreading
this false story,

they got everyone to believe

that silly lawsuits
were rampant.

And nothing could be
further from the truth.

The best social science evidence

shows that the number
of personal injury lawsuits

in recent decades has declined.

And the median payout
is only $55,000.

Uh-oh!
They smell the money.

I better get out of here. Bye.

Thanks, Michael.

These mother falcon companies

dragged an old lady
through the mud

so that we won't be able
to sue them anymore?

Yeah. This story is insane.

McDonalds had a policy
that almost killed someone

and it took Stella's lawsuit
to change it.

She should be considered a hero.

But because of the companies,
we treat her like a punch-line.

Okay, are you two done
talking about civil court cases?

Because Kendra's case
is in criminal court.

It's a completely
different system,

the one I happen to know
quite a bit about.

She has a great case

and a jury is gonna be
very responsive to it.

Oh, they're a ton of problems
with jury trials.

If you do another act,
I swear to gull...

Sorry, it's happening.
We'll be right back.

Every wonder why
some people have

photographic memories?

Well, memorize this.

Photographic memories
don't exist.

Many people believe that
there are folks out there

whose minds can
perfectly remember

a mental snap shot.

But when scientists
actually test those people,

they always come up short.

Even though savants
whose brains come close...

...still mess up.

In 1970, a Harvard professor
published a breakthrough study

that seemed to prove his student
had a photographic memory.

He showed her a random pattern
of 10,000 dots to one eye.

And then a day later,

showed another pattern of dots
to her other eye.

He claimed she was able
to recall the separate patterns

and fuse them in her mind
to create a 3-D image.

Isn't that amazing?

Expect the professor
then married his subject.

She refused to be tested again

which made the study
majorly suspect.

So how can we explain
incredible feats of memory

like people who can memorize
entire books?

One explanation
is that these people

have just mastered
mnemonic techniques.

It's impressive,
but it's not photographic.

War and...
War and...

Oh, shucks, I forgot
the name of the book.

The truth is there is
no concrete evidence

that anyone has
a photographic memory.

Hey, I know you from TV.

Conan O'Brien, right?

Kendra, hi!

Ooh. How you've been?

You know, in jail.

Okay, well, we are gonna
take care of that today.

Okay, Adam's sister's great.

She's the good sibling.

Okay, the trial's
about to start.

But stay calm, I've got this.

And seriously,
no more interruptions.

I would never.

All rise for Judge Kurt.

All right, everybody sit down.

Let's see...
what we got here.

Uh-huh.

Guilty.

I'm just kidding, I'm just...
You should see your face though.

All right, let's get
the jury in here.

Whoa, is that that Adam Conover
from "Adam Knows Best"?

That's my favorite
web series, man.

Hey! You know what you got
to do a skit about?

Bats! Huh?

They're not really
awake at night.

Or maybe they are,
I don't know, you tell me.

That's your job,
that's not mine.

I'm a judge, you're Adam.

Man... are you doing one
right now?

You're doing one right now.

Oh, my God, this is so exciting,
in my courtroom!

What is it about?

Tell me, Adam.
Come on, spill the beans, Adam.

Spill the beans.

Well, if the judge insists.

The jury system
is rife with bias.

Your Honor, no.
Objection.

Sustain... uh, overruled.

I get those confused a lot.
Anyway, I want to hear this.

Me too.

Kendra, don't listen to Adam.

Trail by jury is the cornerstone
of our democracy's legal system.

In America, your fate isn't
decided by a dictator or a king.

Justice is served
by a jury of your peers.

Fellow citizens just like you.

Well, if they're just like us,

then they're gonna make
a lot of mistakes.

It is a testament to democracy
that our justice system

gives such awesome power
to average citizens.

But that also means
that our juries

are subject to the same biases

we carry with us
in everyday life.

Like what?

Like the way that
people in my building

are biased against me
for owning ferrets?

Uh, not quite.

But one study did find
that juries recommend

more lenient sentences
to attractive defendants.

The only thing I steal are...
women's hearts.

Also sometimes purses.

"Hot" guilty.

I mean, not guilty.

And juries actually find
defendants guilty less often

if they're wearing glasses.

It's known as the nerd defense.

What a nerd, I bet he wasn't
even invited to the crime.

I mean, who's
his getaway driver?

His mom.

Sick burn, bro.

Seriously, dude's a wiener.
Not guilty.

These biases are so powerful

there's actually
an entire industry

of highly paid trial consultants

who help lawyers
learn and exploit them.

No, no, no.

Our research shows
you're most likely convict

with black men over 65,
Mexican babies,

and all people named Jackie.

Hmm. Who Jackie?

The rest of you are dismissed.

In some cases, the consultants

even screen potential
juror's Facebook pages

to decide who to keep
and who to send home.

Facebook says his favorite
Batman is Val Kilmer.

What terrible judgement.

We have to have him on the jury.

These biases may sound trivial,

but the effect they have
on cases can be devastating.

As my expert witness,
I now call to the stand

law professor Adam Benforado.

I do.

I object!

You can't call anyone
to the stand.

You're not a lawyer,
you're a TV clown.

I'll allow it.
Proceed, TV clown.

Professor Benforado,
is it not true

that you have
written a book entitled

"Unfair, the New Science
of Criminal Injustice"?

Yes, my research is all about

the hidden biases
in our legal system.

For example, political biases
can be far more influential

on the outcome of a case
than what the law actually says.

So in date rape cases,

older more conservative women
are far more likely to acquit

than younger more liberal women

regardless of how the law
actually defines rape.

Hmm. So justice is
not in fact blind.

Am I right, Professor?
Sadly, you are.

Our juries all see the world
through the tinted lens

of their own biases,

which is one of the reasons
why black defendants

fare so much worse in our system
than white defendants.

We've all been exposed
to damaging stereotypes

that link blackness
with crime and violence.

This can lead juries to assign
African American defendants

longer sentences
than white defendants

because they implicitly see them
as more of a threat.

And is there not today
a half a billion dollar industry

dedicated to exploiting
those biases?

Bingo. Lawyers pay
trial consultants huge sums

to ensure that they have
the most biased juries possible

in their favor,

which means
that a case can be won

based on the selection
of the jury

before the trial even begins.

I'm losing it here, guys.

Wha... the jury is supposed
to take the trial seriously.

Well, we sure don't
encourage them to.

Virtually no one takes
jury duty seriously,

including the government.

Oh, we don't?

What'cha talkin' about, Adam?

In some states, jury duty pays
as little as $4 an hour.

We actually pay the people
handing out death sentences

less than the people
handing out fast food.

Would you like
a verdict with that?

Pay is so low,

we treat jury duty like
it's some sort of punishment.

In some cities
the turn out is so bad,

they've had to postpone
murder trials.

Trial postponed?

Great, got a few more hours
to kill.

And even when people do show up,

they'll say just about anything
to get out of it.

Sorry, I can't be on the jury

because I've been
murdered before.

Think about that.

Your fate is being decided
by a random person

who's paid poverty wages

and would rather be doing
literally anything else.

So ask yourself,

is it any wonder they fall back
on irrational biases?

Hey! Order in the court!
Come on, now!

I'll never get a fair trial.

I might as well head back
to prison right now.

Enough!

Whoa! You got powers too.

Yeah, because he doesn't know
what he's talking about.

And I do.

This is amazing.

Adam, you have no idea
what's actually unfair

about the legal system.

And I'm gonna show you...
right after this.

Oh-ho, damn.
That was good act tease.

All clear.

Ever wonder exactly why
we have a Secret Service?

Uh, yeah, to stop the president
from getting "ka-blamed"

by a terrorist in Air Force One.

Nope.

Originally the Secret Service
had nothing to do

with protecting the president

and everything to do
with protecting the moola.

It all started back in the 1800s

when each bank had to design
it's own money.

For my bank,
I'm thinking sequins.

Very on trend.

The designs were so different

it was incredibly easy
to counterfeit money.

Over one third of
the nation's bills were fake.

I like to cash in
my billon dollar bill, please.

It's legit
because it says legit on it.

So on April 14th, 1865,

Abraham Lincoln
created the Secret Service.

Gentlemen, you all
have only one job:

to stop counterfeit bills.

Now, I've got a show to get to.

Nobody spoil the ending,
but I hear someone dies.

Unfortunately, he should've
given them two jobs

because John Wilkes Booth
assassinated him

that exact same day.

I feel like there's something
we should be doing.

Even after Lincoln's
assassination,

the Secret Services' duties
still didn't include

protecting the president.

It wasn't until after
the deaths of Lincoln in 1865,

James Garfield in 1881,
and William McKinley in 1901

that anyone was like,

"Hey, maybe you should
be protecting this guy."

Uh, sorry, sirs.

Your Honor,
Adam has presented his case.

Now, I deserve the chance
to present mine

and set the record straight.

Oooh. One of those twists
where Adam gets taught something?

Oh-ho, this has been done,
but I'll allow it.

What the...

Oh wow.

Adam, all your little
nit-picks so far

have missed the point entirely.

Of course,
the system isn't perfect.

But I know that firsthand
because I'm a public defender.

Do you know what that is?

Oh, well, I know
that a defendant

must be provided counsel
as per the 1963 Supreme Court...

No. Do you what it's like
in reality?

It means when someone
can't afford counsel,

we defend them.

Over 80% of people
charged with a crime

require our help.

That's why you're always here.

I, uh, just thought you were
really into wood paneling.

The fact is the deck is stacked
against us and our clients

in every single case.

First of all,

there's just straight-up aren't
enough of us doing this work.

Because doing this job means
turning down a lucrative career.

On average,
lawyers at big private firms

earn up to double what we make.

It's a very generous offer
but no.

I'm going to help people.

Aww, but I already to put
all the money in the brief case.

Well, I guess it's useless now.

Instead, public defenders
earn peanuts

and our case loads
are ridiculous.

Oh, this is a lot of work
for one year.

That's just one week.

Some of us have
over 2,000 cases a year.

At that rate, it's impossible

to spend enough
time on each case.

One public defender in Minnesota

only had about
12 minutes per client.

After review of the discovery,

I believe we can
administrate a claim

of innocence to the state
of prosecutorial misconduct

and insufficient evidence.

Huh?

Sorry, I got another client.

In one case, a public defender

had to represent multiple people
facing life sentences

the same week
they passed the bar exam.

Sir, I'm going to crack
prosecution's case wide open.

Also, can you buy me some beer?

Holy crow,
why are you so under staffed?

Because we're also under funded,

especially compared
to the other side.

In California,

for every one dollar
spent on the prosecution

only 53 cents is spent
on indigent defense.

In 2007, prosecutors
received $3.5 billion more

than public defenders.

3.5 billion?

That's as many hours as
my wife spends in the bathroom.

Is that funny?
I'm taking a stand up class.

Yeesh. Well, maybe
they work more cases.

Yeah, a few more,
but not enough to justify

the fact that they have
five times the staff we do.

I mean, think about how hard
it is to play defense

when it's five on one.

And those fancy
trail consultants you were talking about,

we can't afford them.

Some demand $300,000
just to work one case.

Call me when you start
doing corporate law... poor boy.

Public defenders
are so under funded,

New Orleans even had
to start refusing new cases.

And in South Dakota,

they actually charge people
for public defenders.

I can't afford a lawyer.
You'll provide one, right?

Yup, your free lawyer
will cost you $92 an hour.

Wait, so we guarantee attorneys

to people too poor
to afford them,

then charge them for
those very attorneys?

That's unconscionable.

Yeah, that's why
I wasn't impressed

by all the little flaws
you've been pointing out

because this problem
dwarfs all of them.

The government setup
a justice system

where the prosecution
and defense compete to win cases

then systematically provided
one side with massive resources

while starving the other.

The entire game
is rigged against us.

So the system is more broken
than he said?

You're not making me
feel any better.

Yeah, you're right,
it is broken.

But you don't fix
a broken carbonator

by complaining about it
or throwing the entire car out.

You put your head down
and you get your hands dirty.

That's why I do this job.

So, yeah, I know that
juries are biased

towards people with glasses.

That's why I put Kendra
in glasses today.

Oh, yeah.

And I know that the press

don't always get
the story straight,

so that's why I suck up
to the local beat reporter.

Wait, so you don't
really like my jam band?

And I know the prosecution
have five times the staff,

that's why I work
five times as hard.

The justice system
isn't perfect.

That's because it's
made up of people

and people aren't
perfect either.

But you want to know why
I trust the system?

It's because I know
there are people just like me

working every single day
to make it better.

It's easy to stand in front
of a camera

and rattle off criticisms

while you wait
for a perfect world

to fall in your lap.

But while you do that,

I'm gonna dig in,
work my ass off,

and make sure
your innocent friend

doesn't go to prison.

So how about you let me do that?

Woof! Yes!

Ha! Hatchy matchy.

Now that is some
of the best damn lawyer talk

I've ever heard.

Hey, maybe the entire premise

of your show is flawed,
huh, Adam?

All right, let's get this trial
on the road.

I think if we beat feet,

we can get a verdict
in three minutes.

Has the jury reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

We find the defendant...

Kendra Perkins...

not guilty.

Oh man, great, great.

All right, well,
we can all go home.

Expect for you, Kendra,
you'll be getting the chair.

Come on, I'm kidding!
I'm kidding!

All right, Judge Kurt out.

I don't know how to thank you.

You don't have to,
I'm honored to do it.

Oh.

Got to run to another case.

You know how things are.

Congrats, guys

I'm so excited!

Tomorrow, I get a job.

Tonight, I get a drink.

Let's get the French
out of here.

You coming, Adam?

No, you two go ahead.

I don't really think
I deserve to come.

Why are you saying that?

Rhea's right.

I didn't do anything to help.

All I do is talk about
what's wrong.

I know every reason
the justice system is broken,

but I never do
anything to fix it.

Oh, were you not
just paying attention?

Everyone can make a difference,
you said that.

I did? Sometimes I zone out
while I'm talking.

Jury duty.

Every few years, every American
is giving the chance

to take part in the system.

For that one case,

you have the power
to fix these problems.

All you have to do is show up,
check your biases,

and make sure you hear
both sides out.

Oh, yeah, wow.

That's actually really cool.

Yeah, and will you stop
mopping about yourself?

I just won my trial,
you owe me a shot or two.

Yeah, let's get "nootched"!

What does that mean?

Oh, it's a new word
I'm trying out for drunk.

You know, so you can be like,
"Oh, sorry, man.

Last night I was nootched."

You know, or you can be like,
"Oh, I nootched texted him."

Hey, and so then I say,
"3.5 billion,

that's how many years my wife
spends in the bathroom."

You're guilty of sucking!

Sheesh. Rough crowd.

.srt Extracted, Resynced by
Dan4Jem, XII.MMXVI

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